In an increasingly homogenous world, where everyone from Timbuktu to Tashkent knows what a McDonalds tastes like, and everyone under 30 from Los Angeles to Ljubljana grew up watching Friends on TV, it’s easy to think that localisation and translation isn’t as important as once was. Everyone can speak English after all, so what’s the point?
In a more globalised world, languages have taken on more meaning than ever before
Translation has never been so important
Well, you’d be wrong. Translation has never been so important. It’s all too easy, especially as English speakers to get stuck in a rut of thinking that English is the de facto world language. Of course it is widely spoken, and something of a lingua franca when some languages meet. To take this to mean that people worldwide don’t care about having content in their own tongues, and are perfectly happy to read, listen and watch in English is way off the mark.
Culture is transmitted through language and literature
In fact, in a more globalised world, languages have taken on more meaning than ever before. Historically, language has been central to ideas of nationhood and belonging. For better or for worse it has defined people, and been the building block for a national narrative. Culture is transmitted through various mediums, such as literature, poetry and prose, and is valuable because it is inclusive. A more globalised world has helped catalyse this effect. The more the world around us is internationalised, the less real meaning national borders have – as a result national identities have become more fluid, and communities within nations are now asserting themselves, and celebrating their own special heritage.
People love it when they are spoken to in their own language
Cultural communities
This is true even in a country as relatively homogenous as the UK. Recent years have seen a rise in funding for the arts aimed at Gaelic and Welsh speaking communities in Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, Ulster Scots has gained some traction as dialect, whilst over the water a wealth of successful literature (Irvine Walsh, Robbie Burns, Alasdair Grey, even a new Asterix and Obelix book) has been printed in Scots. More people than ever are speaking and reading in these once marginalised languages. Even the once dead Cornish language has seen a revival, with 553 people declaring that Cornish was their first language in the 2011 census.
Speaking to communities worldwide in their own language is a great way to be noticed
People love it when they are spoken to in their own language. When websites, media, product information and services are translated, engagement increases. It makes people feel special. It lets them know that an effort has been made to get in touch with them. They will reward this effort back. In competitive marketplaces, companies spend millions on marketing to make their product stand out, when in fact; speaking to communities worldwide in their own native tongues is a great way to be noticed.
